August 3, 2013

            Quarter past four in the morning

            And the world has come to a rest

            Outside, there’s a wondrous silence

            And it is balanced with

            The peace within the chambers of the soul

            Only a lonely bird

            Is trying with its chirping to disturb it from afar

            The rain which came down earlier has ceased

            And cool air, unbearably pleasant

            Enters into the room through the slightly opened windows

            Caresses my soul

            I feel fatigue

            Relaxed and relaxing

            Under the sky-blue quilt

            The soles of my feet caress each other

            Now

            One can feel closer

            To the eternal-moment

            Listen to its murmur

            Sense its presence

            Time has reposed from its race

            Like a tired horse

            It walks in the paths of the forest

            While around it the trees are breathing

            Under their wet leaves

            And its hoofs are touching above

            Their thick roots

            Which intertwine exposed

                                                June 12, 2013

                                                                                               

(From “One-Time” by Eyran Katsenelenbogen; translated from Hebrew)

June 14, 2013

Under the warm blanket
I listen to the music of the rain
To the hollow percussive sound of its drops on the leaves
Above the luscious leafage of the trees

A moment of a drop
Out of its eternal showers
Slowly glides on top of one leaf
Clinging onto its felt-like surface
For another shattered fragment of time
And in the background, a lonely bird laments
The suffering-song of its existence

                                                            June 14, 2013

                                                                       

From One-Time by Eyran Katsenelenbogen
(translated from Hebrew)

 

מִתַּחַת לַשְּׂמִיכָה הַחֲמִימָה

אֲנִי מַקְשִׁיב לִנְגִינַת־הַגֶּשֶׁם

לִנְקִישָׁתָן הַחֲלוּלָה שֶׁל טִפּוֹתָיו עַל הֶעָלִים

מֵעַל שִׁפְעַת עַלְוַת־הָעֵצִים

טִפַּת־רֶגַע

מִתּוֹךְ נֵצַח מִמְטָרָיו

מַחְלִיקָה לְאִטָּהּ מֵעַל עָלֶה

נִצְמֶדֶת בְּמַעֲטֶה־הַלֶּבֶד

לְעוֹד רְסִיס שֶׁל זְמַן

וּבָרֶקַע מְקוֹנֶנֶת צִפּוֹר בּוֹדְדָה

שִׁיר סִבְלוֹת־קִיּוּמָהּ

                              14 יוני 2013

 

October 27, 2012

        The Fountain of Youth
        Flows into the
        Lake of Knowledge 
                         
                               October 27, 2012

                                                                       

From One-Time by Eyran Katsenelenbogen

May 26, 2013

It is Sunday, shortly after nine in the morning, and I’m writing in my bed, covered with a sky blue quilt blanket which I found a few months ago inside a suitcase in the storage room, after it was left behind in the apartment by one of the roommates or subletters. Two purple yoga blocks which I keep at all times by my bed are supporting below my elbows on both sides as I write. Also while I sleep, I love leaning my leg on top one of them. 

Outside, behind the barred windows of my room, the greenery of the trees can be seen, and their branches are moving in the wind. I can lie down like this for hours and look at the leaves fluttering above the branches – their sight calms my soul, and sometimes I fall back asleep. How easy it is to forget and ignore the things which are so wonderful, like the swaying of the quivering leaves above the branches of the trees as they are nodding in the wind. 

It seems like writing doesn’t happen now by itself. It requires great mental strength, and because of my mental fatigue I find it more difficult to write. Daily worries create mental fatigue in which the danger of dissipation of inspiration lies. Yesterday after I came back home in the evening I wanted to sit and write, but did not have the energy to do so. I lied in my bed, under the light-blue blanket, and watched the leaves in my window which were lit by the street lamp posted outside above the pavement. It felt good and was the only thing I wanted – to lie down by myself in peace and quite and look at them while they are thatching the chambers of my soul.   

May 13, 2013

        Only when you leave, you love.
                                                    ~ Eyran

April 23, 2013

Is the thought 
"Is the thought a deed
Or a thought?” 

A deed 

Or a thought?...

                                May 1996

                                                                       

From One-Time by Eyran Katsenelenbogen

           

The Not So Well Tempered Clavier - An Improvised Diary

April 29, 2013: I am sharing today a practice recording with Kim, my wonderfully talented young student:

Stella by Starlight (Young) - Practice Recording

April 28, 2013: Originally, I planned to document in The Not So Well Tempered Clavier Improvised Diary only my work related to Bach, but very quickly I found myself using this diary to share practice recording of jazz standards which I end up playing after reading Bach and working on sequences developed from his Preludes and Fugues. Below is a practice recording of Easy to Love (Porter).

Easy to Love (Porter) - Practice Recording

April 21, 2013: It seems that this is becoming a sort of a diary inside a diary, or maybe some kind of a log documenting my work on the Bach project. I thought about including a nine-page transcription of a dream which I had on April 12, but in the end decided it would better fit in the second volume of OneTime, the book i have been working on since 1989. Instead, I am sharing two practice recordings of Tune Up (Davis) which followed my Bach practicing a week and a half ago.

Tune Up (Davis), Take 2 - Practice Recording

Tune Up (Davis), Take 1 - Practice Recording 

April 5, 2013: I'm sharing today two practice recordings from Wednesday's session, one of another improvisation in G# Minor, and another of Autumn Leaves, which is on my "To Record" list:). Btw - you can download any of these tracks by right-clicking on the screen as they play and saving them to your hard-drive.

Autumn Leaves

Improvisation in G# Major

April 3, 2013: I have recently started working on my new Bach project: The Not So Well Tempered Clavier - Improvisations inspired by Bach's Preludes and Fugues in twelve ascending keys. In this diary I will familiarize myself with practice recording takes and share my work process. At the moment, the work involves playing through Bach's Well Tempered Clavier and working on elements which inspire improvisation, such as his wonderful sequences and themes of his Fugue. Below is the first two practice recordings, an improvisations in G# Minor and G# Major.      

Improvisation in G# Minor

Improvisation in G# Major